Preserved Lemons

A colleague of mine has a prolific Meyer lemon tree. A little over a month ago he brought me in a box of lemons which I duly took home to have a play around with. I just love Meyers, they have a wonderful, sweet aroma that pairs perfectly with both sweet and savoury dishes. Their skin is thinner and less bitter than that of a regular lemon so I love to add slivers of it to stewed fruit. I used my bounty in a simple lemon yoghurt cake, in a salad, I made some heavenly curd and then preserved some for use in a couple of months time.

Preserving lemons is a simple affair, simply pack the lemons full of salt, put in a jar and fill with lemon juice and boiling water. Seal up the jar and allow them to preserve for a month or so. They make fantastic gifts for friends and family, look fabulous in your kitchen and can be used in a number of ways; I love them with eggs, they brighten up the bitterness of kale and broccoli, they can be stirred through pasta, used in hommus and, of course, are a staple in Moroccan cuisine.

If you’re not familiar with preserved lemon then you are in for a real treat. Unlike fresh lemon, you cut away the pith and use the skins. Thinly sliced they can be added to most dishes you can think of that will benefit from a hint of sweet lemon. If you don’t have access to a tree then they are available right now at the Adelaide Showground Farmers Market from Otherwood Orchards so why not pick up a bag and have a play.

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25 Comments

These look beautiful, I’ve never used preserved lemons before as I haven’t been sure what to do with them with exactly. I think I’ll have to give them a go soon though as I’m sure they would liven up a lot of dishes I cook. I look forward to hearing more about you like to use them.

Hi Amy, yes these were unwaxed because they came from a friends tree. If you can only get waxed lemons, try soaking them in apple cider vinegar for about 30 minutes. Sounds strange but it does the trick. Rinse them off and you’re ready to go. 🙂

I have a new Meyer I planted last year. So far it has about 6-8 lovely lemons on it. I’m looking forward to making preserved lemons. I have made preserved lemons once before, but they went all mouldy. I wanted to use the jars the same as iN your pic. How do you sterilise them? BTW, in Adelaide too….

I sterilise all my jars by running them through the dishwasher, timing it so that I am ready to load in as the cycle is finished (and the glass is still hot). If you don’t have a dishwasher then I would wash everything with hot, soapy water, fill with boiling water and then dry them out in a hot oven. It’s really important to cover the final layer with oil to ensure no air can get in and spoil your lemons too.

I preserved some lemons a couple of months ago and used them for the first time today. Now that I have taken a couple out the liquid no longer covers the lemons that are left. Should I add more boiling water or leave as is? What do you normally do?

I was wondering where I might buy preserved lemons in Tokyo. I googled ‘preserved lemons – Tokyo” and up you popped. I am now wondering if you know a friend of mine, who also knows a nephew of mine?? I am further wondering if you could please bring some preserved lemons next time you visit Tokyo???? I promise I will pay you for them..
Don’t you love it!!

Haha, so great to hear from you both! We so want to head over again soon. Started a new job recently so not much leave, but later in the year it might be possible! Good luck finding the lemons, they are really easy to make if you have no luck – assume lemons are easy to come by?